Digest
Guangzhou calls off land auction at the last minute
The municipal government of Guangzhou abruptly called off yesterday's auction of 12 development sites at a southern railway station, but did not say why. The announcement stating the tender was cancelled was posted on the city's Ministry of Land and Resources website - three hours ahead of its scheduled start at 3pm. It was the second land sale cancellation in Guangzhou this month. Last Tuesday, the city held an auction for 18 plots near railways; six sold for their reserve prices and there were no bids for the remainder. Sandy Li
Researchers report drop in mainland home sales
Mainland home sales continued to fall in the first week of November, according to a property research firm. The China Index Academy said the number of sales at the start of the month fell in 28 of the 35 cities surveyed, with six seeing sales activity slow by half. Sales fell the most - 69.1 per cent - in Changsha, Hunan. In Beijing, developers recorded no sales at 26 new projects. Sales of new and second-hand flats dipped week on week by 22 and 26.5 per cent respectively. Peggy Sito
